Apple's first 50 years have produced a company now valued at $4.85 trillion, with the iPhone still doing about half of sales in 2025.
Services, a division that barely existed 15 years ago, is projected to make up more than a quarter of this year's revenue. That business includes the App Store, iCloud, Music, TV, payments, advertising, and more.
The numbers come first. Apple has also become a global machine: the U.S. contributes 36% of sales, Europe 27%, and the rest of the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region make up another third. Its store footprint has grown to more than 500 locations, with non-U.S. stores driving much of that expansion.
The financial climb has been just as striking. Annual profits rose from roughly $2 billion in 2006 to $112 billion in 2025. For long-term investors, the company has been one of the defining compounding stories of the modern market: a $10,000 investment in Apple's 1980 IPO would have grown to $40.5 million by mid-2026.
There is a simple lesson in that arc. Capital rewards clear rules, durable products, and an ecosystem that keeps customers coming back without constant reinvention from Washington or any bureaucracy. Apple built recurring revenue the old-fashioned way: by selling what people wanted, then widening the market around it.
The market has already voted. Half a century in, Apple is no longer just a device maker. It is a global platform with scale, margins, and leverage that few companies in history have matched.
